Christopher Lloyd joins Crackanory Series 3
Crackanory is to return for a third series on Dave, the broadcaster has confirmed.
The line-up of guest story readers for the next six-part series will be headed by American actor Christopher Lloyd, best known for his roles in long-running sitcom Taxi and as Doc Brown in the Back To The Future film series.
Lloyd will read a comic-noir tale of a police officer who loses his partner in the line of duty but begins to suspect the dead cop has possessed his car's sat-nav system, according to the Radio Times.
The actor told the publication, "It gets kind of crazy. I do love the premise... and I find myself becoming very physical with it in the [storyteller's] chair, impersonating these various voices.
"I feel the narrator isn't just telling a story objectively, I feel he gets really involved in it, that he has some stake in it and has an attitude about these two cops who are very different from one from the other. I'm trying to figure out what his point of view on this story is, where he stands..."
UKTV has confirmed other storytellers for Series 3 will include Inbetweeners star Simon Bird, comedy actress Tamsin Greig and stand-ups Sarah Millican and Greg Davies.
The six new episodes will once again contain two stories each, with the tales delivered via a mix of narration, live action and animation. The channel says: "The tales, penned by some of comedy's most imaginative writers including Nico Tatarowicz, Holly Walsh, Toby Davies and Kevin Eldon, will be performed by a host of well-known faces, invited to unleash Jackanory from its childish shackles and let their dark, comedic minds run wild."
Series 3 will follow on from the well-received second series. The programme has won a coveted Broadcasting Press Guild Award and been nominated at the Monte Carlo Television Festival, Broadcast and Broadcast Digital Awards.
The new series will be broadcast later this year, with the full line-up of readers announced nearer the time.
Hilary Rosen from UKTV says: "Crackanory's unique style of storytelling has captured the imagination of both viewers and industry critics alike. Stellar talent from here and across the pond are clamouring to sit in the iconic Crackanory chair and read one of the 12 twisted tales that will feature in the new series. I can't wait to unveil the full line up."
To help fund the new series, UKTV has made a deal with Amazon-owned digital audio company Audible. The agreement will result in Audible's subscribers being offered stories from all three series of the show.
The second series, broadcast during September and October 2014, was noted as one of the final television appearances of Rik Mayall. In the following video clip he talks about taking part in the programme:
This page was re-written on Monday 27th July to include the news of the other star readers, the Audible deal, and the quote from Hilary Rosen.